public health

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Teen Pregnancy on Rise for 1st Time in 15 Years

Jump has health chiefs worried

(Newser) - The teen pregnancy rate increased in 2006 for the first time since 1991, reports CNN. Officials from the National Institutes of Health aren't sure if the 2.8% increase in the number of teen moms is a blip or the start of a trend, but the figures are a "...

Salmonella Now Largest Food-Borne Outbreak in US

More than 1,000 cases reported; tomatoes and hot peppers still the main suspects

(Newser) - The number of salmonella cases has surpassed 1,000, making it the nation's largest food-borne outbreak, says the CDC. Despite the volume of cases, investigators still can't quite pinpoint the exact cause or source, LiveScience reports. Certain types of tomatoes, hot peppers and cilantro—the main ingredients of salsa—remain...

Polluting Pentagon Rebuffs EPA Orders

Pentagon challenges agency's right to order toxic chemical clean up

(Newser) - The Pentagon is holding out on an Environmental Protection Agency order to clean up pollutants from three military bases where chemicals have become an "imminent and substantial" threat to the public health and environment, the Washington Post reports. The Defense Department also won’t sign contracts to clean up...

Percentage of Teen Smokers Holds Steady at 20%

Lack of progress in recent years worries health officials

(Newser) - The number of teens who smoke has stopped declining, and anti-smoking activists worry that complacency is setting in, the Washington Post reports. The latest survey shows that 20% of kids between the ages of 13 and 17 light up, a figure that has generally held steady since 2003. It remains...

Chicago Watchful for Second Helping of Tainted Taste

Officials remind of their limited role, year after salmonella outbreak at popular festival

(Newser) - With news still coming of people stricken by tomatoes tainted with salmonella, health officials say they're taking full precautions to prevent another outbreak at this year's Taste of Chicago, the Tribune reports. Booths will be inspected four times a day for sanitary conditions at the event, which begins today—though...

City Plans to Test Every Bronx Adult for HIV

Bid to tackle highest AIDS death rate in NY

(Newser) - City officials aim to test every Bronx adult for HIV by 2011 under an ambitious initiative to tackle the high rate of AIDS deaths in the borough, the New York Times reports. The voluntary testing would become routine in emergency rooms and storefront clinics and would pare down consent requirements...

Tomato Salmonella Cases Rise to 383 in 30 States

Increase may be due to closer scrutiny, rather than new outbreak

(Newser) - Federal health officials have learned of 106 more cases of salmonella linked to tainted tomatoes, putting the outbreak's total to 383 and counting. Most of this newest influx of cases were people who got sick weeks ago but had not been counted previously. Some states began doing closer checking for...

New Shower Curtains Smell Like Cancer

PVC products linked to wide-ranging and long-lasting ills

(Newser) - Ever wonder about that smell given off by new shower curtains? Well, according to a new study, it’s poisonous. An independent organization has found that PVC shower curtains on shelves at Wal-Mart, Target, Sears and others may give off measurable amounts of dangerous, volatile organic compounds that could linger...

US Firms Balk at EU Crackdown on Chemicals

Tough new regs shift burden to proving products are safe

(Newser) - The European Union has passed a series of tough new laws requiring companies to prove that the chemicals in their products are safe, the Washington Post reports. The rule is the exact opposite of US law—which requires proof that a chemical is dangerous before it can be regulated—and...

$10 Mosquito Nets Move Young Donors to Save Lives

Malaria solution is hands-on way to help

(Newser) - Mosquito nets, at $10 a pop, are a low-cost, effective way to prevent malaria—and they've become a cause célèbre for young people across the country, who've raised millions in donation drives, the New York Times reports. “You can say $10 saves a life,” says one...

San Francisco, Seattle Top US Fittest Cities List

Los Angeles trails in measures of healthy living, environment

(Newser) - San Francisco has narrowly edged out Seattle for the distinction of being America's fittest big city, says a new study released by the American College of Sports Medicine. Judging 16 large metropolitan areas on factors ranging from exercise frequency and fruit intake to the availability of parks and public transportation,...

C-Sections Propel Jump in Preemies
C-Sections Propel Jump
in Preemies
May 29, 2008 11:56 AM CDT

C-Sections Propel Jump in Preemies

Risks, costs skyrocket for premature infants, new research notes

(Newser) - The number of US babies born before reaching normal gestation jumped by a third from 1996 to 2004, the Los Angeles Times reports, with Cesarean sections accounting for much of the rise. With health risks and high costs associated with premature babies, the trend presents "a serious problem,"...

Bad Habits: It's Who You Know
 Bad Habits: It's Who You Know 
May 26, 2008 4:48 PM CDT

Bad Habits: It's Who You Know

Study says social networks strongly influence behavior

(Newser) - If your friends all jumped off a bridge, you'd probably listen to your mom and not follow them, but how about if they started exercising? New research into social networks—in 3D, not on MySpace or Facebook—shows people are more likely to quit smoking or lose weight if someone...

Toad Venom Aphrodisiac Kills NYC Man

'There is no safe way to use' love drug that upsets heart rhythms

(Newser) - New York City officials warned people today to avoid a toad venom-based aphrodisiac that recently killed a man, the AP reports. The illegal love drug, often sold as Jamaican Stone or Chinese Rock, is harmful whether ingested or applied to the skin. "There is no definitely safe way to...

Organic Formula Stirs Worries About Sugar

Recipe for popular brand includes tooth-rotting sucrose

(Newser) - Although it controls more than a third of the organic baby formula market, Similac Organic also carries a less coveted distinction: It is the only brand in the category that contains cane sugar, or sucrose. The company says its is FDA approved, but many parents and doctors worry about starting...

Illegal Workers Must Rely on Healers, Home Remedies

Farm workers without health care shun doctors, hospitals

(Newser) - Faced with high medical costs and fearing deportation, many illegal immigrants avoid doctors and instead seek their cures among traditional healers, the New York Times reports. With an estimated two-thirds of illegal immigrants uninsured, visits to a doctor are often reserved for emergencies. Instead, the immigrants—most of whom toil...

Death, Illness on Canada Train Not Related
Death, Illness on Canada Train Not Related
UPDATED
May 9, 2008 4:39 PM CDT

Death, Illness on Canada Train Not Related

Woman who died on Via Rail not infectious; quarantine to be lifted

(Newser) - Canadian authorities are set to lift the quarantine on a train en route from Vancouver to Toronto after determining that the 60-year-old passenger who died aboard earlier today "most likely did not have an infectious disease," CTV reports. Ten other passengers came down with flu-like symptoms; "we...

Hormone Makes Food More Appetizing
Hormone Makes Food More Appetizing
May 7, 2008 3:35 PM CDT

Hormone Makes Food More Appetizing

Ghrelin-blocking drugs could fight obesity, but side effects loom

(Newser) - What makes people eat more than their bodies need? It might have a lot to do with the hormone ghrelin, a new study at McGill University finds. The chemical tells the brain to find food more appealing, and causes hunger, LiveScience reports. Work has already started on ghrelin-blocking drugs, but...

Quit Sooner, Live Longer
Quit Sooner, Live Longer
May 7, 2008 2:59 PM CDT

Quit Sooner, Live Longer

Newly minted nonsmokers see benefits almost immediately

(Newser) - Smokers who kick the habit see their risk of dying drop drastically after 5 years, and their risk level nears that of nonsmokers within 20 years, new research finds. In a study that followed 100,000 women over 3 decades, researchers recorded a 13% drop in death from all causes...

Big Butts Are Healthy, Study Finds
Big Butts
Are Healthy, Study Finds
May 7, 2008 6:52 AM CDT

Big Butts Are Healthy, Study Finds

Pear-shaped bodies contain fat that could help prevent diabetes

(Newser) - The kind of fat found in the hips and buttocks may actually help fight diabetes, a result that surprised Harvard doctors performing the research that produced the finding. Although belly fat is known to raise the risk of diabetes, subcutaneous fat injected into the abdomens of mice actually increased their...

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